The Veteran's claim for service connection for a sleep disorder is granted, as it is secondary to his service-connected tinnitus.,Service connection for bilateral hearing loss is granted based on evidence showing the Veteran experienced symptoms during service due to military noise exposure and these have persisted since then.,Service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder (including depression, generalized anxiety disorder, and claustrophobia) is remanded as the Board finds it necessary to determine if these conditions are related to the Veteran's military service.
The deciding factor: The evidence shows that the Veteran's tinnitus causes significant functional impairment of his ability to sleep at night, which supports a finding of secondary service connection for his sleep disorder.,The Veteran experienced symptoms of bilateral hearing loss during service due to military noise exposure and these have persisted since then. The medical evidence supports this finding.,The Veteran has reported and testified that his claustrophobia is related to an in-service incident, which the Board finds credible. Therefore, a VA examination is needed to determine if his acquired psychiatric conditions are causally related to his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- sleep disorder, bilateral hearing loss, acquired psychiatric disorder (including depression, generalized anxiety disorder, and claustrophobia)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 24, 2023
- Citation
- 23004231
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 23004231.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was noted upon entry into active duty service and did not increase in severity during service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, and PTSD due to additional development of records and examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss claim, specifically needing an addendum opinion from a VA examiner. The Veteran will be asked to provide any missing records and former employers' information.
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